Increasingly, producers of sheet dispensers, such as facial tissue cartons, are interested in alternative shapes besides the typical parallelepiped shapes generally offered. A parallelepiped (rectangular prism) dispenser shape can offer several advantages, such as efficient packing of the product, efficient distribution of the product, and efficient board utilization to make the carton. However, consumers have grown accustomed to such shapes and there is little differentiation from one product to another. Graphical treatments can help, but the basic dispenser shapes are still largely the same for all manufacturers.
One common tissue dispenser is an upright carton having a cubical shape containing an inverted U-shaped, V-folded, interleaved stack of facial tissues. An upright carton typically has a square top and bottom having dimensions of approximately 4.4 inches by 4.4 inches. The height of the upright tissue carton is approximately 5 inches. When this tissue packaging was first introduced by Kimberly-Clark Corporation many years ago, it was a unique and differentiated packaging format to the traditional flat, rectangular tissue cartons. As such, it drove consumer interest, enabling Kimberly-Clark Corporation to offer the packaging format as a premium product. Patent protection for the upright tissue carton and the tissue stack folding method has expired, enabling many other manufacturers to enter the market.
Alternatively shaped tissue dispensers to the ubiquitous flat or upright tissue cartons could offer an advantage in product differentiation. Alternatively shaped tissue dispensers could be offered as a new premium product and upright tissue dispensers as a mid-tier product. However, alternatively shaped dispensers are typically not as well suited to the size of standard tissue stacks, which often fit better and dispense better from the traditional shapes. For example, dispensers having an oval cross section can provide a distinctive look, but the depth of the oval dispenser as measured from the front face can be less than the 4.4 inch depth in an upright tissue carton. The decreased depth can significantly reduce the number of sheets that can fit into the oval dispenser and/or cause dispensing problems (sheet tears, multiple dispensing, and sheet fallback) when dispensing. Dispensing problems can cause a perception of poor quality in the mind of the user/purchaser, making it more difficult to position an oval shaped dispenser as a premium product.
Therefore, a need exists for dispenser shapes that are significantly differentiated from existing upright or rectangular tissue carton shapes; yet, at the same time, can dispense tissue stacks as well or better than current upright or rectangular dispensers for a similar sheet count stack. Furthermore, a need exists for packaging the same number of tissue sheets in an oval or circular dispenser as currently placed into existing upright dispensers without increasing the incidence of dispensing failures.